1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a strand-form vehicle seal, which is equipped with a flexible reinforcement with U- or C-form cross section, or one which can be derived therefrom, as well as method and devices for its production.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When assembling the body parts of motor and other vehicles and at sites at which movable body parts are in contact on non-movable body parts, seals are required at many sites to prevent the penetration of water, exhaust gases, dust and/or draft into the interior of the vehicle. These seals are comprised of sealing strips between the individual parts, which are produced continuously and which, for installation, are cut to the requisite lengths.
Within prior art these sealing strips are most often produced with a metallic reinforcement in the form of emplaced wires (EP 11 53 799) or of stamped sheet metal strips wound out from a roll and bent into the required form, as reinforcement and a sheathing of an extruded elastic composition. GB 23 27 699 A discloses a strand-form vehicle seal, comprised of a single extrudate, which at least at the bent comers ensheathes a prefabricated reinforcement preferably produced of metal in the form of a stamped sheet.
Another method of production in prior art consists of round wires bent meander-form, which are joined together with textile filaments and which are also ensheathed by an extruded elastic composition. The working of such strips into the U-form required for a sealing profile takes place continuously in several steps, most often in driven roller systems.
The production of these sealing strips is elaborate and expensive, the use of metal as reinforcement of the elastomer composition is often of disadvantage in the subsequent processing and utilization of the strand-form vehicle seal. The disposal and any recycling entails difficulties.